Meryl's Notes Blog

Meg Weaver of Wooden Horse Publishing writes, “What happened to naming magazines so you know what they’re about? Like Good Housekeeping? And Soap Opera Weekly.

“Is Rescue a trade magazine for emergency personnel? No, it’s a lively little publication about modern life. What’s Links about? Family links? Links to websites? Nope. It’s about golf. No Depression is not a dry medical trade journal; it’s about alternative country music.”

I’ll give Links a little leeway since it’s often associated with golf although it’s not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the word. Maybe it is for golfers.

If I am browing the magazine stand, headlines on a Web site, or anything… my brain uses keywords to decide whether it’s worth reading or not. Companies are going to lose opportunities if they use words that mean something else different. I would’ve skipped Rescue, but knowing its real purpose - I might’ve checked it out. So the magazine loses a potential reader.

Though I dislike country music, I might’ve taken a look at No Depression expecting to find tips and news relating to dealing with depression. Imagine my reaction if I open it and find country music instead. If someone is interested in both depression and country music, then she might be turned off because the title is misleading. Another lost reader.

Judging the book by the title is important when it comes to titles of magazines and headlines. It’s disappointing to “open” it and find something entirely different behind the wrapping.

You can create catchy titles and headlines without throwing your readers completely off the trail.